Thursday, October 27, 2005

Earlier in the week, professional moron Adam Schefter floated this rancid air biscuit, claiming that Charlie has designs on the NFL. The article was thick with innuendo: "Developing situation"..."though Weis could be leaving"..."under consideration..."

No, Schefter didn't talk to Charlie. Didn't talk to Charlie's agent, Bob Lamonte, who said to the Boston Globe yesterday, "Charlie has his dream job...he's on top of the world right now." Didn't look back at what Charlie said when he took the job at ND. Didn't base the article anything more substantial than the presence of a buyout clause in Charlie's contract, which is standard in coaching contracts throughout sports.

Why would he do this? Well, surprise, surprise...Schefter's a notorious Michigan homer. (Check this out, direct from the annals of Wolverine nostalgia.) Schefter's "developing story" was nothing more than buckshot from Ann Arbor, aimed not only at Irish fans who are feeling pretty good about their coach, but also directly targeting recruits who are considering the Irish. ("Despite the fact that he has one of the country's most heralded recruiting classes coming in next season, Weis has positioned himself to leave Notre Dame after this season for the NFL...") What better way to shake the foundation of an up-and-comer than insinuating he's not long for college ball.

Let's put this to rest, once and for all. Take a look at what Charlie himself said on the subject:

And when I come here, I don't come here to leave and take a job in the NFL in three years. This is not a stepping stone. This is an end-all for our family. We come to Notre Dame, it's with the intent of retiring here. That's why we're coming here. We don't come here to bounce somewhere else. If that's what I was going to be doing, I would not be taking this job and I would be waiting till the season ended in the NFL and try to get one of those jobs. I'm here because I want to be here.

And this, from Charlie's first day on the job, when he spoke to the students at a 6am warmup in the JACC:

[My wife] knew from our conversations that there were only a couple of jobs in the country that I ever coveted. In the NFL, the only job I ever coveted was the Giants, because I grew up in New Jersey, and I grew up a diehard Giants fan. Ironically, last year the Giants job opened and I was one of the few finalists for the job, and it came down to them hiring the guy with head coaching experience. And that kind of crushed me at the time, because I'd never interviewed for a job in my life and not gotten it.

This isn't like I wouldn't have had options in the NFL. There were a couple of teams -- and I don't want to go into it, but there were a couple of teams. And they can't offer you a job until your season's over.

So when Notre Dame came open, I said, this is it honey, this is one we're going to go get. And I intereviewed for the job, and went through the process, and here I am.

I intend to be here for a long time. I'm not three-and-out. I'm not taking this job to go get a job in the NFL, because I had one waiting for me this year, if I wanted it. I had people calling me the night I was taking the Notre Dame job saying, "Just don't take it", and there was a job sitting there waiting. But I wanted to be here. I have a kid who's going to be in the seventh grade next year, and I'm definitely going to be here until he graduates from here. So I intend to be here for at least ten years. I don't need to go get an NFL job, because I can already do that.

A lot of college coaches hear, "Well, he's going to be the next head coach there [in the NFL]". Wellington Mara, owner of the Giants, called me up on Friday, and I said, "You had your chance." Because this is where I am, and it's good to be here.

No, Charlie isn't going anywhere, and that's a frightening thought to the Wolverines. Schefter's fabrication is one more piece of evidence that the fat and happy CFB establishment is scared shitless of a rejuvenated Notre Dame.